


Your Dark Island

by larrycaring



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Canon Related, Canon Universe, Dark Bruce Wayne, Headcanon, I guess... because you know that's just a thing with them; isn't it, Jeremiah is good at knotting ropes, Jeremiah is still as insane as he claims to be sane, Jeremiah just wants to be besties with Bruce, Kidnapping, at least that's what Jeremiah wants and what he does will lead Bruce to go on a certain path, because I guess I am still haunted by that ‘Cloooooseeeer’ scene in the season 4 finale, he thinks he is doing this for Bruce's benefit, i mean WTF, just........ read :) please :), set after 4x22 of course, there’s a touch of Hannibal at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 12:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16018166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrycaring/pseuds/larrycaring
Summary: “Jeremiah, don’t,” he blurted out, wrestling on his seat, not having a care in the world if his wrists were hurting him. The ropes were still not loosening. He hated the fact that he sounded almost pleading, eyes begging Jeremiah. He was once his friend. Bruce thought he could be truth-worthy. He thought they could do great, sane and safe things for Gotham.Jeremiah was composed, unaffected by Bruce’s plea. “You will thank me for this, Bruce.”





	Your Dark Island

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t lie and say that Dark!Bruce is something that I do not enjoy.
> 
> I keep thinking, what if Jeremiah succeeded in making Bruce _see_. What if Bruce joined the Dark Side. (Okay, Star Wars reference thrown right there, I know.)
> 
> So this fic is totally for my own enjoyment, but I wanted to share it anyway. And FYI, it's not necessarily linked to my [first](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14870192) Jeremiah/Bruce fic, though you can totally connect them if you want.
> 
> Hope it’s not too terrible.
> 
> Please, do leave your opinion in a comment. That would be so very sweet of you. :D
> 
> Thank you so much [@TrisBrownewell](http://twitter.com/TrisBrownewell) for editing this fic!

Bruce opened his eyes, but wasn’t surprised to be staring at blackness. It seemed Jeremiah had a thing for blindfolds. It didn’t take Bruce long to realize he was tied to a chair, wrists tightened together behind the single-seat furniture. Even his ankles had been thoughtfully bounded to each foot of the chair. Still, as anyone would, Bruce started moving his hands, trying to slip out of the ropes. He knew it was a lost cause.

“Please, Bruce,” a voice spoke behind him. Bruce was solaced in the fact that he didn’t even jump, however he admonished himself for not feeling the presence beforehand. “I praise myself to be quite skilled when it comes to tight knots,” Jeremiah said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “You know I do appreciate your pertinacity though.”

Bruce’s jaw tightened but didn’t answer. At least his mouth wasn’t gagged. He willed himself not to give in and answer the insane man.

Without warning — because such thing didn’t exist with Jeremiah — Bruce found himself gifted with a sight again, blindfold gone.

His eyes flashed as Jeremiah now stood in front of him, clothed in his usual attire. The purple suit looked almost black in the dimmed room they were in, and his pale skin was looking rather gray. That kind of gray color that was always the sky of Gotham. Jeremiah’s grim face was wreathed in a triumphant smirk.

Bruce raised his chin in defiance. That only made Jeremiah look more appreciative of Bruce’s behavior. Bruce hated him.

“I hope the chair isn’t too uncomfortable,” Jeremiah said, almost sounding apologetic. As if it was the only logical thing he should be apologizing for. His smirk was now gone, face as impassive as ever. “You’ll have to be seated there for a short time still.” His tone was serious, thoughtful. He probably was already thinking of whatever crazy schemes he had in store for Bruce.

That was the difference between him and Jerome, Bruce thought. While Jerome was all in for the show, Jeremiah was reserved. It was definitely more worrisome. Bruce did not like not knowing what was going to happen.

Though at this point, with Jeremiah, nothing could ever faze Bruce anymore. He just knew he had to win as much as time possible, while trying to retrieve information out of Jeremiah. Of course, this wasn’t usually an easy task. Jeremiah’s face usually never betrayed him, and only he would know what was going on in his mind. Bruce hated the fact that he could not get inside it. But how could he? Jeremiah was unpredictable, cold and manipulative. He was always ten steps ahead of you.

“Now, now, Bruce,” spoke Jeremiah again, sounding amused at whatever he was observing on Bruce’s face. “While I like your constant angry frown, I need you to clear your mind off the murdering scenarios you are having about me right now.” 

Bruce didn’t blink, didn’t flinch. He was trying to give Jeremiah the silent treatment, but now he couldn’t help the reply spilling out of his mouth. “Why don’t you untie me so that I can execute at least one of them?”

Of course, that threat fell through. Jeremiah’s wry grin was back on his face, a flicker of amusement passing in his unsettling gray eyes. He ignored Bruce’s fulmination and went on. “I have something quite grandiose planned for you, Bruce. I need you to be levelheaded.”

Right. Because in this situation, that was totally going to happen.

Bruce inhaled while he was still trying to set his hands free from the ropes. Jeremiah indubitably knew what he was doing, but his expression was unconcerned. Apparently, he was very sure of his knotting talents.

Bruce wanted to prove him wrong, just for the hell of it.

Jeremiah stood silently, never stopping to look fixedly at Bruce. Bruce hated that. He hated that blank face, yet he still could feel the smirk behind the façade. He hated not knowing what Jeremiah was thinking, hated having these emotionless eyes on him like that, as if Jeremiah was trying to probe at his soul.

So Bruce snapped. “Get on with it, then!” He briefly was taken back to that day with Jerome, at the Circus. Jerome had loved keeping Bruce in suspense. Jerome and Jeremiah were similar in that way.

Jeremiah loved torturing Bruce like this. Maybe he wasn’t hurting Bruce physically, but he was worse in many other ways. He had kidnapped Alfred, had messed with Bruce’s mind. And then he had shot Selina.

And yet he had the nerve to call Bruce his best friend.

Jeremiah smiled at Bruce’s venom, and only chined up his head in response. Bruce was startled when a door opened behind him, and he turned his head to see what was going on now.

It had begun. Whatever insane plan Jeremiah had in mind, he was ready to put it in motion.

Slowly, but efficiently.

Bruce frowned as none other than Jervis Tetch appeared at his side, a big mischievous grin sported on his glum face. Bruce knew that Jervis had found himself a spot in Gotham, but he did not know he now was worked with Jeremiah. After Ra's al Ghul, Bruce had hoped there would be no more surprising duo pairing against him.

He should have known better.

“Much as Jerome had crazy plans,” Jeremiah started saying, snapping Bruce’s attention to him once again. “I must admit that he also entertained a few interesting ideas. He was simply doing it all wrong.” A slow dark smile crossed his face, eyes not leaving Bruce’s.

Bruce gulped when Jervis presented something to him. It looked like a bottle spray. Small, and brown.

Jeremiah took a step closer to Bruce. He was still standing relatively far away, not uncomfortably close, but Bruce still leaned backward, away from him. As much as he could while being restrained on a chair, at least.

Jeremiah gave him a crooked smile, and only his eyes moved to the side, to the spray in Jervis’ hand. “Jerome had made a special concoction for me. I thought I’d make one for you, Bruce.”

Bruce remembered that day, the day where it all changed. Jeremiah had been acting rather oddly, but Bruce didn’t think much of it. They had finished working on their generator project when Alfred had called. Things had gone downhill after that.

Jeremiah had confessed what had happened to him, and Bruce had no idea how bad things were until it had been too late.

An insanity gas, it had been.

And now, Bruce was going to get on the receiving end of whatever ‘concoction’ Jeremiah had made for him.

Bruce bit the inside of his cheeks. Yet he couldn’t control his mouth once again. “You associate yourself with your brother’s old pals, and now you can’t help yourself but steal your brother’s toys. And here I thought you had a brilliant mind.” He found using the same words he once used to praise — and manipulate — Jeremiah was a great touch to his provocation. Bruce knew he shouldn’t work the man up liked this. But he also knew it was one of Jeremiah’s weak spots.

And it worked, even if briefly.

Jeremiah’s gaze darkened. Bruce hated the fact that, even irritated, Jeremiah still could appear unbothered. His thin lips twitched. It took everything in Bruce not to shift on his seat when Jeremiah leaned towards him, face only a few inches from his. He did not stir either when Jeremiah’s hands rested on the seat, fingers barely touching Bruce’s thighs. It annoyed Bruce how long Jeremiah could hold his gaze without saying anything. He wanted a reaction.

But of course, Jeremiah was enjoying all of this.

“As I was saying,” Jeremiah continued as if Bruce hadn’t actually interrupted him. He was still leaned over him. It was displeasing and Bruce wanted to slam his head against Jeremiah’s. “One of Jerome’s ‘old pal’, has kindly offered his services.” He smiled humorlessly when he said ‘old pal’. Bruce only narrowed his eyes in response. He guessed that the certain person did not just offer their services. Jeremiah could be persuasive when he wanted to.

Jeremiah took Bruce’s silence as a cue to continue. “He is known to provoke fear, you see, but you, Bruce, you do not fear anything. I knew it would be pointless to use it on you. So instead, I thought…” He took a pause, his eyes slightly narrowing, darting everywhere on Bruce’s face, as if seeing him for the first time. “With my ‘brilliant mind,’ I thought I could find a way to make you see what I see.”

Now Jeremiah was actually sharing his plan. The left corner of Jeremiah’s mouth lifted up as he enjoyed the understanding expression settling over Bruce’s face.

Bruce remembered that day at the GCPD, right before The League of Shadows brought him and Jeremiah to Ra’s al Ghul. Jeremiah had been tied up entirely, looking nothing but serene as if he was exactly where he was supposed to be. Bruce now knew that it had been the case.

“You know why we're destined to be best friends?” Jeremiah had asked, with that fervent voice of his, eager to enlighten Bruce. “Because we're very much alike. You are as I used to be. At war with your true nature. You must truly embrace it if you ever want to be free.”

Bruce knew back then that there was no turning back with Jeremiah. The man was lost, he was as insane as his brother, even though he said he was the face of sanity.

“I'm just trying to help you,” Jeremiah echoed the same words he had said to Bruce that day. He nodded at the bottle spray. “This will help you. You will see the Gotham you need. Your dark island, Bruce.”

“You are so deeply wrong, Jeremiah,” Bruce said slowly, eyes darting between Jeremiah’s, desperate to make him understand. But there was no resonating with Jeremiah, was there. They were past that.

Jeremiah finally stepped away, allowing Bruce to breathe. “We will see about that.”

He nodded once again at Jervis, who moved closer to Bruce. Bruce widened his eyes and tensed.

“Jeremiah, don’t,” he blurted out, wrestling on his seat, not having a care in the world if his wrists were hurting him. The ropes were still not loosening. He hated the fact that he sounded almost pleading, eyes begging Jeremiah. He was once his friend. Bruce thought he could be truth-worthy. He thought they could do great, sane and safe things for Gotham.

Jeremiah was composed, unaffected by Bruce’s plea. “You will thank me for this, Bruce.”

And Bruce hated how Jeremiah kept repeating his name, hated that he thought he was doing this for Bruce’s benefit. Hated how Bruce was powerless right now. Hated that Jervis detained the power to just press the spray and Bruce would be at Jeremiah’s mercy.

“Mr. Tetch,” Jeremiah spoke then, taking another step back.

Jervis took his place, standing in front of Bruce. And then he spoke, voice slow and irritatingly captivating. “You will listen to me, Bruce Wayne.”

_No._

No, Bruce did not want to be spellbound by some ludicrous hypnotizer.

He knew it was useless, but Bruce closed his eyes. He closed them so forcefully it almost hurt, but he didn’t care. He tried to block everything around him, but Jervis’ voice was resonating, entering his ears, and then it was inside Bruce’s mind.

All he was aware of, was the voice of Jervis telling him to stay calm, to open his mind, to let him in, to see what he needed to see.

“This will help you,” Jervis explained gently, and if Bruce was in a normal state, he would be disgusted by the bitter-sweet voice, but instead he relaxed.

If he was sprayed, he didn’t feel it.

All was happening was Bruce’s mind clearing up, as if a fog had been lifted up. He could see Gotham. He could see the city so clearly, like he had never been able to before.

And then, he felt more than he saw Jeremiah besides him.

“See, Bruce,” he heard him say, so sweetly. There was a hint of amazement in his tone. “This is what you deserve. This is everything I’ve ever wanted for you.”

Yes, Bruce could see it now.

His dark island.

**Author's Note:**

> **Yo, I know this sucked but be kind to me, please… Fudkfgfkgfd.**
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> **Thank you for reading, hope you liked it.**
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> **Kudos and comments would be very much appreciated!**
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> **Go read my other fics. Of course, it's not an order. Just an advice. Please. Pretty please? :D**
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> **[Click[here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/larrycaring/pseuds/larrycaring/works) to see and read all my other works!]**
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> **Twitter:**  
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